Bad batch of lantus?

[myla]

In doing my reading here on FDMB in preparation of starting Lantus Monday morning I ran across this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15341&p=169052#p169052

They think possibly it was a bad batch of Lantus and she said it was made in Germany and not Italy like she usually gets. So I checked the cartridges I just got and they are made in Germany. Now I'm worried as I would feel horrible if this happened. Purrcie has been through so much with all of his ailments(profile page coming soon) so I have to ask if most of you have cartridges from German or Italy?

Does anyone knows the lot number of the cartridges in question above?

 

[dian and wheezer]

all mine from the boyz are made in germany and I have been using since november and no problems

 

[Libby and Lucy]

I saw that thread, but I haven't heard of anyone else having problems. We have 60+ kitties here each day (plus a lot more who don't post daily) so I think if it were a widespread problem, somebody would have noticed. Lantus is a human insulin, so I'm sure it must undergo a lot of FDA testing. You could try searching the web to see if there is anything noted.

I just checked my box, and it is from Germany too. My cat gets a fairly high dose, and no problems here.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Sanofi Aventis, the company that manufactures Lantus is located in Germany. They may have an Italian distribution point but I believe that the drug is manufactured in Germany. If you buy Lantus through a Canadian pharmacy, it can be shipped from anywhere. On occasion, someone gets a "bad" cartridge or pen. It's not like it will cause any harm. Usually, it's just that the insulin is intermittently effective and this is what happens when the Lantus gets old. Any drug can be mishandled but at least from what we've seen here, it happens only very rarely.

 

[PeterDevonMocha]

I can't say for anyone else, but the box we have says it was manufactured in Quebec Canada, and we shipped it in from Canada. We went through three cartridges without any results, and then we got the free pack of pens and used those with much better results. Since we ran out of the "good" pens we went back to the remaining two from the box shipped in from canada. Mochas numbers the past few days have been less then impressive. I don't know if they were mishandled during shipment or what the deal is, but her numbers show that these carts do not have an effect on her. I can't wait to replace them.

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

i'm sorry. i can't answer your question about lot numbers, but i did want to stop by to comment.
we haven't seen or heard of any bad batches of lantus. that doesn't mean there isn't any. we just haven't seen it here.
in the thread you've referenced, i'm sure you read the post from jess & earl:

Mia, I'm sorry to hear your cat is having such problems.

I took her to the vet in the am and he said it was a "bad batch" of lantus and not neuropathy.

This was seriously the only explanation he offered? Nothing about the spine, or blood clots, or strokes, or heart disease? Did he take a blood pressure? Send out bloodwork? Take x-rays? Is your cat peeing and pooping on her own?

This is awfully fishy. If you are in an area where you can get your cat to a neurologist, please do so ASAP. You can find a list of board-certified neurologists at ACVIM.org. If there are no neurologists in your area, you should at least get a second opinion, especially if your vet didn't do any of what I described above. If you post your city and state (or city and province), someone might have a local recommendation for you. But go to a neurologist if it's an option. The sooner you can get a diagnosis, the better. A "bad batch of Lantus" sounds like straw-grasping.

BTW you should call Sanofi-Aventis yourself, reporting the batch number and where you purchased it. I doubt they will do any reimbursement of expenses, but just in case this is a "bad batch" (which is not being reported by humans, who inject10-15x as much as cats do), they will have your notice on record.

Please keep us posted.

i agree with jess. this sounds awfully fishy and grasping at straws...

 

[Carolyn and Spot]

What I thought was interesting was that the cat collapsed within minutes of the shot. IMO that is not enough time for the insulin to do anything, let alone absorb enough to drop a cat like that.